Mega Man X: Genesis
by colonel-forte
Summary: The events leading up to the first X game. A fleshing out of the events listed in the game manual and the backstory explained in the scenes from X4.
1. Prologue

Prologue

He awakens on his back, on an angled table in a dark room. He struggles to move, but his arms and legs fasten him down. He realizes that he remembers nothing. He looks to his left and right, searching for clues when a door slides open in front of him. He wonders at his lack of memory as a little man steps into the light of the doorway. Wild, unkempt hair juts from the side of an otherwise bald head, a lab coat extends nearly to the floor and large, seemingly out of place boots sheathe his feet. The silhouette seems familiar to him, he realizes as the little man approaches. The little man stands over him, looking him up and down and without saying a word he taps a control panel mounted on the side of the table. Then the little man steps into his view and suddenly he remembers everything. The two stare at each other for a moment, a single thought being shared, but the little man wants to be sure. "Do you know who I am?" the little man asks. He nods his head slowly. "Good..." he trails off. "Ah yes, my finest creation, I shall be undefeatable now," the little man mumbles to himself. He nods again, an unfamiliar feeling beginning to well up inside him. The little man's expression brightens. "Ah-ha, you know it as well," he chuckles. "Good. Now, I will release you." Once again the little man manipulates the control panel, quicker this time. The bonds around his arms and legs make a hiss as the hydraulics release and the mechanisms retract. The table levels off as he begins to sit upright and swings his legs over the side. "Stand up," the little man orders. Another unfamiliar feelings flashes quickly inside him, and he nearly lashes out at the little man, but it quickly subsides. Strange, he thinks. This man created me; yet, he aggravates me as well... "Walk around for a bit," the little man adds. This time, he does without hesitation, without that unfamiliar feeling, but he knows it still lingers there. As he walks, he adjusts to another new feeling. He is aware of what he is doing, knows exactly how to do it, yet it is all still very new to him. As he walks, the little man rubs his hands together, almost comically as he mumbles some more, "Ah yes, my finest creation..." He continues to walk around, testing his arms as well as his legs, running through the vast database of knowledge in his mind, when the near- silence of the lab is suddenly shattered by the little man's grating voice speaking much louder than before. He spins around quickly to face the little man, raising his right arm as he does and pointing it at him, not entirely certain as to why. "Very good," the little man concedes. "You are functioning properly then. Now listen to me," he orders as he walks to the far wall where a large viewing screen is displayed. He manipulates another control panel and the screen comes brightly to life. The bright blue light coming from it temporarily blinds him. "GO!" he screams, "Destroy him; he is my nemesis!" The unfamiliar feeling returns again, not dissipating this time. It builds and builds until he cannot take it anymore and he screams in rage. The rage clouds his mind and rational thought is lost as he stares at the screen that displays the hated blue one, and he screams. The little man revels in the pained howl that fills the room and knows that this time, he has finally won.


	2. Chapter 1: Discovery

CHAPTER 1

The early-April, afternoon sun beat down on his straw wide-brim as he stared at the object before him. He could not believe what he was looking at. He could not deny it however; there it was, right in front of him, plain as day. Yet he still could not bring himself to believe it. Dr. Arlen Cain had just made the greatest discovery of the 22nd century, but even as he told himself that, he still could not believe it. He stood there in a hole four feet below regular ground level in the middle of his archaeological dig site, completely dumbfounded. Despite the 110-degree heat, he was shivering from excitement. He merely stood there; staring at the still ninety-percent buried object in the ground in front of him. He knelt once more to reread the warning he had just uncovered that had confirmed the find. It read:  
"DANGER! The content contained within is an untested prototype. Do NOT attempt to open unless the diagnostic status lights are green. If released early, this prototype could be more dangerous than anything the world has ever seen. Signed, Dr. Thomas Light"  
_It's all true_, he thinks. The rumors were true, after the Robot Wars of the 21st century Light created one final masterpiece before he died, and it's in this capsule. He had the proof and it was right there in front of him. Finally, Dr. Cain came out of his reverie and called to his teaching assistant. "Erik. ERIK! Quickly now, contact the university! Tell them to send out the heavy excavation equipment! I just found the 'Lost Invention of Dr. Light'!" "The what?!" Erik gaped. Suddenly forgetting the map of Area 40A and his confusion over how he could have grabbed the wrong map, he sprinted from the support tent to the hole, gasping and panting when he finally arrived, despite the short distance.  

"Did you just say the lost invention?"

"No, of course not Erik," Cain deadpanned as he turned to face Erik. "Yes, of course you nitwit, why would I make this up?!" Spinning quickly to face the capsule again he continued, "Now quickly, contact the university and then get back here. This is obviously Light's 'secret' lab, that's why it wasn't on your map. There must be more artifacts here, now hurry!" Cain knelt again and began to brush away dirt from the exposed portion of the object, intermittently checking his palm-top sonar device so he could begin to outline the objects dimension for excavation.

Erik breathed a sigh of relief as he rushed back to the tent. _I wonder when I should finally tell him that I took the wrong map from the library's resource room?_ he mused.  No sooner had he reached the tent, Erik had his two-way in hand and was choosing the dean's frequency. "Dean Hamner," he didn't wait for a reply. "I need excavating equipment to dig site Area 40A, sector 46E right away." The dean's voice came back instantly, "Dr. Cain? It's too late in the day for that, contact me in the morning." "Dean, sir, this is his TA, Erik Norder, and I think you'll change your mind when you hear this. Four words sir: 'Dr. Light's Lost Invention'."  
****  
Not one hour later, the excavation team has arrived. Very carefully, plasma cutters are used to clear dirt from around the main artifact where Dr. Cain had marked off the dimensions. Within two hours, the lab's entire perimeter is mapped out and uncovered and within three hours, the capsule was completely exposed and carefully lifted out of its hole. By this time, lights were brought in to ward off the coming night; not one person wanted to leave until there was nothing left to find. Finally, by two o'clock the next morning, what was left of the laboratory walls were uncovered, and Dr. Cain's palm-top, and his full-size, sonar devices showed that there were no more artifacts to be found. Among the objects uncovered were various ancient computer systems and robotics tools, the remains of what appeared to be some type of mechanics robot, and an ancient optical computer disc labeled only with a bold "X". The capsule, which was removed first but left to be inspected last, was massive. It stood 14 meters tall and 8 meters wide. Just below the warning, which was posted near the top and just to the side of what appeared to be a door was a screen displaying a running diagnostic. It was moving too fast to be completely understood, but every status light it showed were green, and of the two lights directly above the "door", the red light was off, the green light was on. With the dig finally complete, Dr. Cain and Erik returned to their quartering tent and attempted to rest as the university's excavation crew packed up their equipment and ventured home. Erik, who never had the energy for a dig quite as important as this, he had hoped to return to the university and find the correct map, fell right to sleep. Dr. Cain however did not, and spent the rest of the night wondering what the giant capsule contained, and where he was going to find an optical disc reader that was almost 100 years old. Finally, just before the sun came up, Dr. Cain could hold out no longer and fell asleep.


	3. Chapter 2: A New Threat A New Hero

CHAPTER 2

Miles away in a ruined and abandoned mountain fortress, a long- deactivated red robot wakes up. Covered by a thick layer of dust, he sits up on a familiar angled table. Swinging his legs over the side, he stands up, shakes himself off and runs his hands through his long, blonde hair. "What happened here", he wondered aloud. As he looks around, he catalogues everything he sees, appraising the situation and taking account of his resources. In no time, he understands that after his last mission, he was deactivated to be repaired, something went wrong with the Doc, and he ended up lying inactive for nearly a hundred years. Upon that realization, he quickly runs a self-diagnostic. His eyelids fluttered as the programs scan his software and hardware, searching for any anomalies or defects, using auto-repair where applicable. It was as he suspected, his physical circuits had been damaged by natural decay and dust build-up from the 100 years of inaction. The damage was far beyond auto-repair's abilities, but repairs needed to be made. Fortunately he was in a robotics lab, he had everything he needed. So he set to work cleaning up the dust and debris and restoring the electronics and machinery. He would be at full capacity in no time. He was not aware however of the secondary intelligence within his programming that had reactivated him upon the reception of a very specific radio signal. A secondary programming with only one objective: destruction. As he went about fixing the lab, the secondary intelligence was sending out a radio signal of its own, detectable, in theory, by only one individual. That individual would be along to investigate the signal eventually, and that would be the chance it needed.  
****  
Dr. Cain sat impatiently at the corner table of the university library. Tapping his fingers and wondering, how could anyone have ever tolerated such slow load times? "Damn DVD's," he muttered to himself. In actuality, the load time was only a few seconds, but an eternity to anyone accustomed to technology that was 100 years newer. Then he remembered how fortunate he was that he had even found a working drive that would read the mysterious "X" disc. He would have to remember to thank the university's museum curator profusely the next time he saw him for actually letting him borrow such an antique. He had been rather rude to the poor old man initially; the gentleman had only been curious about the disc and nervous about any possible damage that could be done to the exhibit. Thankfully he had at least understood the importance of the discovery. Cain was getting incredibly irritated at this point and the wait was beginning to ruin his excitement. Finally a chord sounded from the speakers and a message on the screen informed him that the load had finally completed. Cain could not remember how long it had been since he was last this anxious, if he ever had been. He was so anxious in fact, he even temporarily forgot how to operate the old-fashioned computer and told it, "Proceed." It took him a few moments to realize why the screen hadn't changed upon his command. When he did finally figure out his mistake, he nearly snapped the mouse cord as he snatched it from the desk. Then, he forced himself to calm down, replaced the mouse on the desk, and moved the cursor to the on-screen "OK" button and clicked. The computer took a few more moments to completely display the document, during which Cain nearly lost his temper again. Another chord sounded and it was finished. Cain couldn't contain his excitement any longer and began reading. He sat there in awe as he read, as everything was finally explained to him. Next to a picture of a very advanced and modern looking robot was a description of the various main parts on the robot's body. Cain stared at the picture for quite a long time, marveling at the amazing design. The robot was 100 years old yet appeared far beyond anything that was currently in existence. _This_, Cain mused, _is why he was the master. The Father of Robotics was the most appropriate name for the man there was. _When he finally finished staring at the picture, he clicked to the next page where a large document was flashing red and an obnoxious siren was blaring. The text read:  
"WARNING: 'X' is the first of a new generation of robot which contains an innovate new feature- the ability to think, feel and make their own decisions. However this ability could be very dangerous. If 'X' were to break the first rule of robotics, 'A robot must never harm a human being', the results would be disastrous and I fear no force on Earth could stop him.  
Approximately 30 years will be required before we can safely confirm his reliability. Unfortunately I will not live to see that day, nor do I have anyone to carry on my work. Therefore I have decided to seal him in this capsule until his reliability has been confirmed. Please do not disturb the capsule until that time.  
'X' possesses great risk as well as great possibilities. I can only hope for the best.  
  
September 18, 20XX T. Light"  
Dr. Cain sat back in his seat and stared. "The ability to think, feel and make decisions?" he whispered to himself, repeating what he had read. His mind boggled at the possibilities as he wondered what could be done with this new discovery. Suddenly he realized that there were many more pages to the document on the disc. He continued to explore the contents, finding everything he would ever possibly need to take advantage of this amazing technology, the complete design blueprints for "X".


	4. Chapter 3: Awakening

Chapter 3  
The very next day, Dr. Cain opened the capsule in his newly retrofitted lab.  Retrofitted because an archaeologist's lab was hardly fit to deal with such advanced robotics. At first, the capsule displayed no visible seams at all, but when Cain entered the unlocking sequence a bright white dot appeared at the top of the capsule "door" and began to draw a line right down the middle. Interesting, Cain marveled, the door was completely solid and the only way to open it was to burn an opening into the door. As the dot moved downward the metal turned from white, to red and finally resumed it's normal platinum color as it cooled. The seam finally completed, the two remaining pieces split and slid horizontally into the capsule and disappeared. The only light inside the capsule was the light spilling in from Cain's lab. He could faintly make out the shape of the object inside which he instantly recognized from the DVD as X.  
Suddenly, the diagnostic began running again and the red light lit up. Machinery inside of the capsule hummed to life and Cain stepped back startled. Then just as quickly as it started, the humming ceased, the red light dimmed and the green light illuminated once more. Inside the capsule two faint points of light appeared: a pair of eyes. The eyes blinked a few times, the light getting brighter with every wink and then in one smooth motion, "X" stepped out of the capsule. The first of a new breed of robot had finally been activated. As he stepped out, he began to look around, taking in his surroundings. When he turned to look back at the capsule he seemed to study it for a moment. Apparently satisfied with what he saw, he turned around and stepped closer to Dr. Cain.  
Cain looked him up and down and marveled once again at the design. X's helmet was very apparently reminiscent of Light's earlier creations, both Mega Man and Proto Man. Instead of a solar sensor array along the top however was a single red jewel embedded in the forehead out of which extended two ridges that wrapped up around the helmet. From the shoulders on down, he appeared very much as a human might in a modern-day coat of armor, until you reached the legs. From the knees on down there was a single piece of molded armor that started at the knee joint and extended to the ankle joint where it opened up like a cone. Out of this opening came his feet which were shaped like somewhat like a boot. The cuff on his left wrist also appeared familiar however it was much smaller than Cain had initially realized. It was obviously a plasma cannon, but no where near as large as the original "buster" weapon carried by Light's original creation Mega Man. Size was deceiving however, for he knew that it out performed the original buster weapon by a great deal. Lastly, Dr. Cain studied the X's face. Were it not for the helmet and the body armor, he would swear he was looking at a human. Amazing, truly amazing, he mused. Light was a genius.  
"Do I know you?" he asked, devoid of emotion.  
Cain was startled out of his reverie by his voice and his question. Of all the possible questions, this was not what he had expected. When he regained himself he answered, "No, we have not met. I am Dr. Arlen Cain, I'm a paleobotanist.  I discovered your capsule there," Cain motioned toward it, "recently on an archaeological dig. You are the final creation of Dr. Thomas Light, the Father of Modern Robotics."  
X thought for a moment and in a very quick flash of memory, he saw a kindly, older, heavy-set man with a full, white beard. It almost seemed to be a portrait rather than an actual memory. "Yes," he responded, "I think I remember now. I do not think I actually met him, but I am programmed to recognize that name."  
"That is understandable X, his notes indicate he built you but apparently never activated you. You are something completely new and untested so he sealed you away to assure that you would exit the capsule fully functional and pose no risk."  
"X? Is that my name?"  
"Oh, um, well as I understood it, I assumed so. That is how you were referred to in Light's notes. Is that acceptable to you or is there something else you would prefer to be called?"  
"No, X is acceptable." He looked around again and asked, "What is this place doctor?"  
Over the course of the next few months, Dr. Cain spent every last moment of his time with X. Together they studied Light's blueprints and notes and X began to learn. Cain had deduced that he was the mental equivalent of a young teenager, thirteen or fourteen years old. However, being a robot had its inherent advantages and he absorbed and retained every bit of knowledge presented to him. His intellect grew, however his mentality remained at a young level, making him very curious but also very naive. Soon he began to go out on his own, trying his best to become what he knew Light had intended him to be. All this time, Dr. Cain was not content to just sit back and watch X develop. He was sitting on a gold mine and he knew it. He began to draw up plans for a brand new series of robots based on X's design. He called them reploids. He had begun applying for grants and soliciting corporations for funding, and in no time he had a contract for a factory where millions of this new breed of robots would be mass-produced. Within mere months of X's activation, 100,000 reploids had been built and distributed all over the world. A strange, new era was dawning for the people of earth.


	5. Chapter 4: Maverick Rising

Chapter 4  
Metropolitan News  
"January 27, 21XX  
For six months now, 'reploids' have become more and more a part of our every day lives. It is hard to imagine what life would be like today without them, they are co-workers, assistants, companions and friends. Yesterday at the downtown construction site of the new city hall however, a new danger presented itself in a group of reploid engineers. 3 of the reploids working on the building were in the basement of the unfinished building installing computer and electrical systems. They were conversing on the state of the union and suddenly their conversation became very loud and animated when one of them suddenly declared his hatred for mankind and immediately after attempted to murder one of a group of human dry-wallers also working in the basement. The reploids two companions were able to bring it down by force with their arm-mounted welders before it could cause any serious harm to the construction workers.  
The deactivated reploid was immediately taken to Cain Labs and dissembled to find the cause. According to a Cain Labs representative, there appeared to be nothing physically wrong with the robot initially, however at the time tests were still being conducted. When asked whether or not this reploid's actions could proliferate among other reploids and become a problem, the representative made it clear that yesterday's event was most likely a localized glitch that may appear in a certain reploid model series that is currently being investigated and should be nothing to worry about."  
****  
**From the journal of Dr. Cain:**

"February 16, 21XX  
Three reploids went "maverick" today and injured two people before they were stopped. This is the third instance of this type of behavior and I still have no idea what is causing it! There is some talk about stopping the assembly of any more reploids, but I don't think it will happen. Maybe we've become too dependent on them... The council has now decided to set up a group of "Hunters" to destroy any maverick before it can cause injury. The reploid named Sigma has been assigned to lead the Hunters. Sigma is one of the most intelligent reploids I've created and contains my latest circuit designs. His systems should be immune to any problems.  
Signed, Arlen Cain"  
****  
"X, I was going over the blueprints and Light's notes again," Cain called across the lab. "Something just occurred to me and I cannot believe we didn't think of it before. In Light's letter he says you were sealed away and tested to make sure you never break the first rule of robotics. 30 years was required to be certain that you do not malfunction. Perhaps that is our problem, these contemporary reploids have not been tested thoroughly enough."  
"That makes sense Doc, but something else occurred to me on the subject. Dr. Light's intention was to create robots that could make their own decisions. As the original upon which all other reploids are based, I feel qualified to suggest that these reploids are not malfunctioning, rather they are deciding that they are better than humans and choosing to break the rule." X's mind began reeling at the possibilities this suddenly presented. And once again, the uneasy feeling he got whenever he thought negatively about the future returned. _What does any of this have to do with me_, he wondered.  
"X, I think you're right. That makes the most sense of any theory I've heard yet because if human nature is unpredictable and potentially dangerous, what is there to keep reploids from evolving the same way?" As he thought about it, Dr. Cain himself began to develop an uneasy feeling. _What have we done? _he thought to himself.  The words echoed in his mind.


	6. Chapter 5: Confrontation

Chapter 5  
"Sigma, sir, we have a serious problem."  
Standing over seven feet tall and cloaked in a maroon cape the ultimate reploid, leader of the Irregular Hunters, turned slowly to respond to his second-in-command. "Yes Vile, what is it?"  
"Sir, unit 7, Gamma's unit sir, has met some heavy resistance to the north. They had been tracking a nearly undetectable radio signal; something our regular equipment cannot detect sir, and stumbled upon an old warehouse set into a mountain where a red reploid is holed up. He doesn't appear to be very well armed, but at the same time sir he's fighting like a mad man, the Maverick Effect seems to be prolonged-"  
"Up north?" Sigma cut him off, the fact that reploid was fighting mad meant the Effect was obviously prolonged and he of all reploids didn't need it explained to him. "That's a wasteland, what kind of warehouse could be up there? In a mountain you say, this is curious? I must go there at once, inform Gamma to standby until I arrive."  
At precisely that moment a lower enlisted of the Hunters ran up to Sigma and Vile in a panic. "Sirs, SIRS, Gamma's unit has been completely wiped out! After sending in two teams of two, he got impatient sir and sent in the whole squad! This reploid sir, it's…" he stammered, "  
It's a nightmare sir."  
"Soldier!" Sigma barked. "Retain your bearing. Who is closest to their nav-point at this moment?"  
"Sir, it's uh," the Hunter thought for a moment, recalling the map data from his memory, "unit 13 sir, Mack's unit. They're the closest on foot, sir."  
"Good, Mack's a good man, send him there immediately and inform him I am on my way. We cannot have a reploid of such obvious danger in such an out of control state, I'll take care of this personally. Vile," he barked as he turned to face his lieutenant once more, "follow me to the embarkation room." And with a flourish of his cape as he spun, Sigma left the room and marched down the hallway. "Vile, stay here and keep an eye on that soldier. No one loses his bearing like that in front of me ever again.  Do you understand? We can't have soldiers panicking at the loss of a few good men; otherwise there would never be any order around here. Educate him, and if that doesn't work, send him to Dr. Cain. His new assistant, that antique X, seems to be very good with reploid engineering, if nothing else." Sigma had reached the embarkation room. "Take care of it Vile. I shall return." With that he stepped through the door into the transport beam and blipped away.  
Vile felt a sweep of pride pass through him as he marched back to the comm room where he and Sigma had just left. To be thought of as highly as he was by the worlds finest fighting machine was quite an honor to him. He couldn't wait to carry out his orders and straighten out this mediocre excuse for a Hunter. As he stepped back through the door to the comm he saw the reploid sitting at a computer terminal downloading information. He beamed to himself as he stepped up to him and carried out his orders.  
****  
He sat in the dark just staring at the bright white sliver of light coming through the hangar doors of the warehouse. His secondary programming had taken control and had slaughtered anything that had come through those doors that could detect the signal it was broadcasting. Had it been designed better, not just for destruction, it would have realized that though each robot that had entered could in fact detect the signal, none of them were the robot it was expecting. It was on a roll now however, and he just sat there, waiting for more to enter, he could sense them out there, he knew it was only a matter of time before another one entered.  
****  
"Where's that Maverick," Sigma preferred the term over "irregular", much more appropriate he thought, "that wiped out Gamma's unit?"  
"Sigma, SIR," the two reploids that had taken cover startled together. "In there sir, just beyond those hangar doors." As they spoke they struggled and stumbled to their feet and went to attention. "Understood. Resume your cover soldiers and wait," Sigma walked off as he spoke. He approached the hangar doors at a brisk march and stopped when he reached the opening. He switched on his night/low light lenses and scanned the immediate area inside the warehouse and saw nothing. He then entered slowly. The moment he was inside he began to perceive nearly sub- audible noise and quickly pinpointed the location of what sounded like mad laughter. He marched toward the source of the noise.  
****  
He began to laugh as the unsuspecting robot approached the corner where he crouched. This one appeared far different from the rest; it should prove to be interesting. As he crouched behind a fallen lab table, he poised himself for a leap, and waited, growing ever more impatient.  
****  
Sigma approached the overturned table, but rather than sidestep it, he threw it aside, and was blindsided by a lightning fast body blow. The two robots traded blow after blow, neither backing down, neither willing to admit that the other might be better, neither fighting with any sense.  
****

While the fight raged, the secondary programming was processing data and soon came to the understanding that this opponent was quite powerful.  The scans it had completed prior to the fight had finally been analyzed and suddenly this opponent didn't appear to be an opponent at all.  _Rather_, it thought, _this robot could be an asset, for it appears to be much more modern and advanced than this body which I currently inhabit.  I must have it!  _At that realization, it used every resource at its disposal to cease the fight, and increase its power.

****

Sigma was losing and he knew it.  His arm was missing and this reploid fought with a savagery he'd never encountered before.  He mustered what strength he had left to launch a counteroffensive he hoped would end the fight, when suddenly the reploid froze.  Its eyes rolled up into its head and its knees began to buckle.  Then, as it fell to its knees it began to scream in pain, and incredibly, the jewel in its forehead began to shine brightly.  Sigma took this opportunity, and ended it.

****  
From outside the warehouse, the two reploids from the 13th unit hunkered down behind their cover and listened intently to the sounds of the battle that raged inside. Occasionally, Sigma's voice could be heard not only through radio frequency but also straight from the warehouse itself. Not wanting to believe that their beloved commander could be in trouble or pain, neither called for backup, they merely listened. What seemed like an eternity later, but in reality had only been a few minutes; a staggering figure appeared at he opening of the hangar doors. Regaining his composure, Sigma stood up straight and marched back to where the two reploids were. "Recover the remains of that reploid immediately and send it to Dr. Cain!"  
Without thinking the soldiers did as they told when they both noticed at once, Sigma's right arm from the elbow down was gone. As Sigma marched off, the soldiers exchanged a glance and first said to the second, "I now know that nothing can stop Commander Sigma, he is truly the greatest fighting machine there is." Sigma marched off until he was out of sight.


End file.
